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Ecology & Environment
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11/12/20 11:30 AM IST

New species of Muraingrass

In news

A new species of Indian Muraingrasses known for their ecological and economic importance, such as fodder, have been spotted by scientists in Goa in the Western Ghats, one of the four global biodiversity hotspots of India.

Highlights
  • The species has adapted to survive harsh conditions, low nutrient availability, and blossoms every monsoon.
  • Globally 85 species are known from Ischaemum, of which 61 species are exclusively found in India.
  • The Western Ghats have 40 species with the highest concentration of the genus.
  • Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, has been exploring the biodiversity of the Western Ghats for last few decades.
  • The first collection of this new species was made in the 2017 monsoon.
  • The population was kept under observation for the next two years to confirm the consistency of its characters. Morphological and molecular data of the species were used to confirm the novelty of the species.
Source: PIB

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